ALBANY — The lobbying industry has reported a downturn for the first time since state officials began tracking how much special interest groups spend to promote their agendas in New York.

Records released Monday showed $120.2 million was spent on lobbying in the first six months of 2016, compared with $130.9 million in the same period last year.

Albany insiders speculated that US Attorney Preet Bharara’s aggressive prosecution of corruption was partly responsible for the drop.

“It went down because of the investigations,” said state Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn). “That’s what I think. But at the end of the day there are many different ways legally to be able to advocate for something you believe in.”

Blair Horner of the good government group NYPIRG noted $5 million in lobbying fees were generated last year during a battle over expanding charter schools. That was not replicated this year.

The top lobbyist in the first half of 2016 was the state’s nurses union, which spent nearly $2.3 million pushing for better nurse-to-patient ratios and elimination of mandatory overtime.

The Rent Stabilization Association of New York City spent $2.1 million lobbying to keep rent laws favorable to landlords.

The Mario Cuomo Campaign for Economic Justice, which drew support from unions, spent more than $2 million to push for a $15 minimum wage.

Groups representing teachers, trial lawyers and charter schools rounded out the top 10, with Uber joining the big spenders for the first time with a more than $750,000 tab.

The figures were compiled by the state’s ethics panel, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

Felder said the dip in lobbying activity doesn’t herald an end to corruption.

“Somebody who’s determined will figure out a way to get what they have to get,” Felder said. “That’s why JCOPE and all this ethics is just [for] looks. You make it more difficult one way and they find another way and the people who are honest are going to continue being honest.”

Despite the downturn, the top 10 lobbying firms received a nearly identical $35.5 million in compensation and reimbursed expenses in the first half of 2016 as they did in 2015.